


Flights and Welcome Back

by MrsnMrsAird



Series: Datebook [series of minifics] [4]
Category: Carol (2015), The Price of Salt - Patricia Highsmith
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 00:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6929995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsnMrsAird/pseuds/MrsnMrsAird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Therese goes out of town for a month and is finally coming back to Carol.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flights and Welcome Back

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt fic from my tumblr ask box. Since I ended up writing two parts of it, I decided to make a separate fic of it!! Hope you enjoy <3

Their laughter was just fading, Carol wiped under her eyes and clutched the receiver ever closer to her ear. Her palm was sweaty and so was the crook of her elbow but she didn’t want to keep the phone down just yet, or ever.

“How late is it there?”

“12:30″ in her mind’s eye, Carol saw Therese in her pyjamas or maybe even one of her own blouses that had mysteriously gone missing ever since Therese left home, with her sleepy eyes and endearing half smile she did when she was tired. 

“Aren’t you going to go to bed?”

“I don’t like going to bed without you” Therese slurred her words slightly, the cracking through the phone making her voice even more distorted.

“I don’t either sweetie. It’s so hard for me to go to sleep without someone pushing me out of bed in the middle of the night.” Carol tried to lighten up the mood, she wouldn’t have Therese going to bed sad even if she was 2448 miles away.

“Of course, it’s a pain to go to sleep without you taking all the blankets” They both laughed. Carol heard Therese yawn and decided that she would end this conversation because Therese wasn’t going to.

“I’m going to go now, Darling. You sleep well. Try to dream about something other than me,” Therese laughed again and Carol felt triumphant 

“You know they say dreams are a heart’s deepest desires” 

“You should be dreaming of lemon pies then. Now go to bed!” Carol tried to sound stern but even she could hear the smile in her voice.

“Okay then.” Carol didn’t hear the line cut

“Therese.” 

"I love you.” Therese spoke suddenly and Carol grinned.

“Love you too.” The line finally cut off.

* * *

Carol was on her third cup of coffee, it would be nothing out of the ordinary if the cup wasn’t so damn huge. She had gone to the bathroom five times by now, each time worrying that the intercom would announce the arrival just as she pulled her slacks down. Her second cigarette was at its last puff and she contemplated having another, even with Therese’s ever present voice at the back of her head telling her she shouldn’t smoke so much.

“where is this goddamn plane??” Carol paced around, heels clicking loudly against the marble flooring. She checked the time again, the plane was 45 minutes late. 

Suddenly, the intercom dinged and announced the arrival of flight AAL34. Carol held her breath and wouldn’t let it go till she saw Therese walk through the arrival gate. Around what felt like an hour later, Carol spotted a head of chestnut hair and her favourite green eyes looking oh so tired. She wanted to scream _DARLING_ or even _THERESE_ but knew better than to do that in public. So she waited, frozen while the crowd around her spilt out of the two gates in front of her while Therese looked around and over the crowd. Therese finally looked in front of her and her eyes lit up like she had seen the pearly gates of heaven. Her footsteps got more urgent but Carol remained frozen, not knowing how to react. She wanted to take Therese in her arms and kiss her like it was their own living room but there were people around and Therese’s colleagues followed behind her. Therese finally reached her but stopped a foot away, searching Carol’s eyes for permission but also smiling in reassurance to tell Carol that it’s okay. 

“ _I love you”_ Carol mouthed to Therese and finally thawed, stepping into Therese’s space and capturing her in a hug. It would look like a plain hug to anyone but Carol held her a bit too tight for it to be simple, Therese shuddered a bit too prominently for it to be just a hug. They both breathed in each other’s scents after nearly a month apart and it left them both teary eyed.

“I want to go home. Take me home Carol,” Therese didn’t step out of the hug as she spoke.

Carol silently picked up her suitcases and walked to her car, periodically checking that Therese was behind her. They drove in the car in utter and complete silence, both desperately trying to control their tears. Both of their minds flashed with couples and families reuniting around them in the airport but they are to wait till they reached their apartment that was 50 minutes away to properly even say hello. Therese felt like she would puke until Carol reached out and took her hand, Carol ran her thumb over Therese’s knuckles. Neither looked at each other, Therese looked out the window and Carol straight ahead at the road but both of them smiled, knowing the other was finally there. They had waited a month, what were 50 minutes more going to do to them?. Therese brought their intertwined hands to her lips and kissed the back of Carol’s hand.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Carol finally broke the silence. 

“I’ve just missed our bathtub.” Therese joked in spite of the tears escaping her eyes. They both started laughing despite how shit they felt and Carol pulled the car to the side of the road. When she saw no car coming or going, she pulled Therese into a kiss. A short one but it loosened every bone in each of their bodies.

“Welcome back Angel.” Carol started the car again and Therese soon fell asleep on the car window with a faint smile on her lips.

* * *

At around 7 in the evening, Therese set foot in her apartment after nearly a month away, she saw the upturned corner of their carpet and smiled to herself. There was a time when she’d seen another upturned corner of an entirely different carpet, in an entirely different apartment and with an entirely different feeling of exhaustion settled in her bones. So much had changed since then and Therese never knew how she got so lucky. From feeling utterly lonely and miserable to this feeling of fulfilment and love. Even on her trip she didn’t feel alone, it was hard to when Carol would immediately call after she’d reached her hotel. They could talk for hours or just say their goodnights but Therese would always be reminded that she had Carol to go home to.

Therese turned around and didn’t even let Carol keep her suitcase down before closing the door and wrapping her arms around Carol’s neck, pulling her down to capture her upper lip between her own. Carol let out a surprised yelp which was immediately muffled by Therese’s mouth and awkwardly set the suitcase down before moving her arms to remove Therese’s coat. Therese hummed against her lips and removed her arms from around Carol’s neck to rid herself of her coat and then remove Carol’s in kind. Then coats were on the floor, hands in each other’s hair and they stood in their hallways kissing, sighing and humming as they were finally reunited. Therese pulled back and muttered “Bath” but just tilted her head to the right and moved back in to kiss Carol again. Carol hummed and reluctantly pulled back a minute or so later. 

“You go start it. I’ll come join you in a little bit okay?” Carol kissed the top of Therese’s head and detangled herself for her.

Therese happily made her way into their bedroom, relief washing over her instantly at the sight of her beloved pillow and the photograph on their side table. She skipped her way into the bathroom and stripped her dirty clothing off immediately. In her robe, she sat by the edge of the bath watching the water fill and the bubbles form before getting in. The steamy air in the bathroom carried the fragrance of lavender and Therese thought she might fall asleep in the bathtub. She left the door cracked and could hear the stove going and Carol clanking around in the kitchen, it confused her as to why Carol was suddenly starving and ignoring her for food. Hunger never stopped them, thought Therese.

“Carol?!” Therese yelled, her voice shaking the pool of bubbles in front of her.

“In a minute, sweetie!” Carol’s voice echoed back and Therese had to stop herself from pouting. 

Therese waited impatiently for Carol to come join her, yelling about the water getting cold or just letting out a loud incoherent whine but Carol gave no answer. Soon, Carol burst through her bathroom door, in her tartan robe and a plate of something or the other in her hand. Once the enough air had escaped the bathroom, Therese was greeted with the smell of waffles and her eyes lit up. 

“Oh, Carol! You didn’t have to do that! I could’ve waited!” She watched Carol perch herself on the edge of the tub and lay the plate on a wooden stool beside her.

“Shush! Let me spoil you.” Carol said almost huskily as she bent down and kissed Therese’s ear. 

“You really don’t have to do this you know.” Therese sounded grim but the shy smile on her face told another story.

“I know. It just gives me pleasure.” 

Then for the next hour or so that they spent in their bathroom, Carol cut pieces of the freshly prepared waffles and affectionately fed them to Therese as she told her all of the things that happened on her trip. She went on and on happily about the photographs she took, the places they saw, how this stupid intern almost messed everything up. After the waffles were done with, Carol slowly stripped off her robe and got into the tub with Therese. She washed Therese’s hair, flicked soap suds at her when she started to fall sleep and kissed her shut when Therese tried to scold her for doing that. They got out, dried each other off and immediately crawled into bed. Carol hugged Therese close and Therese nuzzled her neck. Both of them were silent, their hearts too full to say anything, soaking in the warmth of each other’s arms again. 

Therese didn’t mean to but she fell asleep, it was hard not to with the jet lag and the sleepness nights and Carol tracing shapes on her back that was the best lullaby anyone could ask for. She jolted awake, completely disoriented, unaware of the time or where she was. She looked over to see Carol asleep on her back, head turned towards Therese, bathed in the light of their bedside lamp. Either she forgot to turn it off or she fell asleep looking at Therese. Therese smiled and gingerly moved on top of her, kissing her jaw to see if she would wake up. 

“Now, it’s my turn to spoil you.” Therese breathed against Carol’s neck and started the path down.

Therese placed the softest kisses on Carol’s collarbones, her sternum, ignoring her breasts because she knew how sensitive they were, and further down her stomach. The minute she reached her navel, she pressed her lips harder against it and Carol stirred beneath her. She looked up to see Carol’s lips slightly parted, her breathing getting heavier but her eyes still closed, she was still fast asleep. Therese parted her thighs and moved to place feather light kisses on the insides of them as well. Carol was moving more underneath her and she knew that Carol would wake up any second now so she wasted no time and place the lightest kiss to Carol’s lips. She parted her legs even further and pressed her tongue lightly to her clit, Carol stirred again and Therese held her tongue there for a second before slowly moving it in circles. She started to move her tongue up and down and heard a moan come from above her. Carol had finally woken up and when she tried to sit up, Therese laced their hands together and smiled up at Carol. Carol smiled back in the most loving way and Therese moved back to her clit. Carol brought her free hand to Therese’s hair and fell back into the mattress.

“Oh god. I’ve missed you so much.” Carol followed with a long moan just as Therese placed two fingers inside her. 

“I’ve missed you too.” Therese smiled and pressed a kiss to her thigh. 

They built up their rhythm slowly and soon, Carol’s back arched and her body quaked. Therese properly kissed up Carol’s body now, finally paying attention to Carol’s breasts as she rode out her orgasm. Carol pulled her up and attached their lips together, Therese smiled into the kiss.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Carol spoke against her lips, tears pricking her eyes.

“Is that really something complain about?” Therese pulled back and raised her eyebrows at Carol.

Suddenly, Therese found herself on her back with her arms pinned above her head. Carol grinned devilishly at her, hovering above her and keeping her pinned down.

“Seeing as I am wide awake now and you won’t be going to sleep anytime soon.”  Carol leant closer to Therese’s lips.

“Let’s try and productively use our time.” Carol kissed her hard, the second of a long night and early morning ahead.


End file.
